Heart & Vascular Services

It was more than 40 years ago that Southeast Hospital embarked on a journey of growth that today has evolved into the region’s first Heart Center.

Recognizing the need for specialty care for cardiac patients, Southeast in 1966 became the region’s first hospital with an Intensive Care Unit designed especially for cardiology patients. The first cardiac catheterization in the region was performed at Southeast that year as well. Growth in cardiac services and technology continued over the next two decades. In the early 1980s, Hospital leadership learned that the southeast region of the state held the dubious distinction of having the highest death rate in the state due to cardiovascular-related diseases.

That, coupled with the fact that open heart surgery services were available only in metropolitan areas, led to the introduction of open heart surgery at Southeast in 1984.

Since then, more than 6,700 surgeries have been performed at the Heart Center and dozens of new services and technologies have been made available to the almost 600,000 people the Heart Center serves.

Patient Experience - Eddy Stockman

Eddy Stockman never saw it coming. One minute, he was drinking coffee with his buddies at The Depot diner in East Prairie, Missouri. The next, he was slumped on the floor, the victim of a cardiac arrest. The quick actions of a waitress, who administered CPR while aided by one of Eddy’s friends, the fast response of paramedics and ultimately the skill of heart doctors at SoutheastHEALTH saved his life. “The nurses and doctors were fantastic. They were wonderful to us,” says Eddy’s wife Carolyn, who seldom left his side while he was hospitalized at Southeast. Read Full Story.

American Heart Month Events

Cape Heart Walk
SoutheastHEALTH is making plans for the Southeast Missouri Heart Walk, which will be held on Saturday, March 7, at the Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau. Registration will begin at 8 a.m., with opening ceremonies scheduled for 9 a.m. The two-mile walk will start at 9:30 a.m., followed by closing ceremonies at 10:30 a.m.

The Heart Walk is the American Heart Association’s mission in action. The annual Southeast Missouri Heart Walk promotes physical activity and heart-healthy living in a fun, family environment. It is a time of celebration for those who have made lifestyle changes and encourages many more to take the pledge to live healthier lifestyles while raising money needed to fund life-saving research and education, advocate for health and save lives.